Ewan's Birth Story by Kyra
After a roller coaster 37 weeks and 4 days of morning sickness, high blood pressure, endless doctor’s appointments, blood tests and CTG scans the day had finally arrived to bring this baby into the world! I hadn’t been worried about the birth until the day I was booked in be induced and then I got a little bit scared.
I was 3cm dilated at my last obstetrician appointment so I didn’t need to have any gel applied to ripen the cervix and this gave me a bit of confidence that everything would progress okay.
We arrived about 7.15am and I was 4cm dilated. I had been having lots of pre-labour cramping during the week and asked the midwife if I could hold off going onto the drip to start the contractions and just have my waters broken and see if things started on their own; however because I was Group B positive and at risk of infection already she wasn’t too sure if my ob would allow me to be ruptured and leave me more at risk. I also told her I wasn’t keen on having an epidural, they gave my ob a ring and lucky they did as she’d forgotten about me! She thought I was booked in for the day after. She spoke to me over the phone said she was in the middle of baking a cake and would be in about 10am and that the midwives would rupture my membranes and get the drip going. She also warned me that it was likely I’d need an epidural with my high blood pressure but was happy for me to have a go without one. My bp was actually the lowest it had been all pregnancy when I was in labour, very odd!
The midwife broke my waters and I straight away started to get more tightening/cramping. The baby did not like this and coupled with the vaginal exam his heart rate immediately dropped and I had to roll onto my left side to get him back up and stable again. They had put a scalp probe on him to keep track of his HR and I had to hold down the CTG piece for the machine to register his pulse .... that is not practical during labour!
At this stage I was sure I’d end up having a Cesarean – I thought if baby can’t handle a little contraction now there is no way he’ll get through labour. They hooked up the drip to the IV but it hadn’t even hit my veins before he had another de-stat so they phoned my ob again who said to stop everything until she got there.
During that time I kept having my own natural contractions (although I don’t think the midwife with me at the time believed me as they weren’t showing up on the CTG and were quite irregular ) – baby was coping fine with these so when my ob arrived and checked out the CTG she said it was fine to keep going, we’d just take it slowly and under my own steam - no drip. She said they would access me at 12pm and she hoped I would be 5-6cm by then and said she hoped I didn’t feel unloved because she had forgotten me!
I was hooked up to a portable monitor so I could wander the corridor to try and speed things up, it was awkward to move around but we managed a few trips. The contractions kept coming in varying intensity and length so I really had no idea how I was going.
It was 12pm before I knew it, I had another exam and was 7cm! Baby de-stated again but came good - he just did not like people poking around up there! My OB was happy with that and said to review me again at 2pm.
Well, after that it was all a bit of a blur – the contractions amped up, they asked me if I wanted some gas, which I mistook as them asking if I had been having gas ie, passing wind and I said yes, but was happy to take it anyway! I don’t think it did much to help the pain but gave me something to concentrate on, regulate my breathing and bite down on! The gas made me a bit dizzy but that passed with some big breaths of oxygen.
The midwife thought I should try and go to the toilet as maybe the pressure was causing me pain (again, I don’t think she thought I was really as far along as I was!). I tried to walk to the loo but just couldn’t make it, I just leant against the bed and they helped me back in on my side and said just to let it go – so I did. Everything. Was pretty gross I’m sure but I didn’t care. I remember getting quite involuntarily vocal through the contractions, rocking back and forward and pushing against the end of the bed, sucking on the gas for dear life. One of the midwives said “I’m going to get things ready as I think you’ll deliver soon” – I remember being scared and elated at the same time - it was nearly over but the hard bit was yet to come!
They called my OB back as I was getting the urge to bear down, the next thing she was there and coaching me through the pushing – I know my future husband was saying encouraging things but I only wanted to concentrate on my OB's voice and the nicer midwife(she was fantastic too). I was pushing so hard but not feeling like anything was happening – I had my legs tucked up against my chest and she kept telling me to try and get 3 long pushes out of each contraction, take a deep breath and put all that energy into pushing, don’t speak or do anything else but push.
In between contractions the nice midwife reminded me that I was doing great, all by myself and without an epidural just like I had wanted. I remember saying “What the f*ck was I thinking?”
I still had no idea how I was progressing and had to hold off pushing at one stage – they put a tiny little vacuum on his head to help turn him and bring him along. After a few more big pushes, where I really put all my energy into pushing the way my ob was telling me and then at 1.29pm there was a baby on my chest!
I remember being shell shocked and I know I must have looked exactly as I felt. I couldn’t believe I had done it and he was finally here. I just looked at him in awe.
My future hubby cut the cord and it wasn’t until the midwife asked me what I’d had that I even thought to check. I had a peek and said “I knew you were a boy!” future hubby had a few tears and said how proud he was of me. Everyone was bustling around, giving me the injection for the placenta to come out and my ob telling me that I had one tiny tear that most doctor’s wouldn’t stitch but she would prefer to, I didn’t care less at this stage what they were doing. Had some stinging local and few more sucks on the gas while she popped in one stitch, then the placenta was ready and popped it out.
I got to have lots of time with baby before they took him to weigh and measure him.
He was 3.152kg and 50cm long, head circumference of 35cm – APGAR scores of 9 and 9.
I had trouble getting him to attach to have a feed, so an hour and half after he was born they recommended doing a finger feed with some formula as his temp had dropped and he didn’t have the energy to try and warm up. We gave him the formula and it was off to Dad for big cuddles while I had possibly the best shower of my life! They gave me a chair but the last thing I felt like doing was sitting down!
We packed up our belongings in birth suite and went back to the maternity ward at around 4.15pm where I called the new Grandma and Uncles & Auntie – Mum had no idea why I was calling and was just having a chit chat when I said – “You have a grandson” – she was so shocked! They came over that night for a visit and I did the big text out to announce our news (and thanks to Catherine for posting on Beyond The Baby)
So, probably about 5 and a half hours from when my membranes were ruptured to him arriving and about 25 minutes of pushing. I think I had the best possible birth I could have hoped for, although at any stage had he not been coping okay I would have done anything to get him out safely, it really is all that matters.
I was 3cm dilated at my last obstetrician appointment so I didn’t need to have any gel applied to ripen the cervix and this gave me a bit of confidence that everything would progress okay.
We arrived about 7.15am and I was 4cm dilated. I had been having lots of pre-labour cramping during the week and asked the midwife if I could hold off going onto the drip to start the contractions and just have my waters broken and see if things started on their own; however because I was Group B positive and at risk of infection already she wasn’t too sure if my ob would allow me to be ruptured and leave me more at risk. I also told her I wasn’t keen on having an epidural, they gave my ob a ring and lucky they did as she’d forgotten about me! She thought I was booked in for the day after. She spoke to me over the phone said she was in the middle of baking a cake and would be in about 10am and that the midwives would rupture my membranes and get the drip going. She also warned me that it was likely I’d need an epidural with my high blood pressure but was happy for me to have a go without one. My bp was actually the lowest it had been all pregnancy when I was in labour, very odd!
The midwife broke my waters and I straight away started to get more tightening/cramping. The baby did not like this and coupled with the vaginal exam his heart rate immediately dropped and I had to roll onto my left side to get him back up and stable again. They had put a scalp probe on him to keep track of his HR and I had to hold down the CTG piece for the machine to register his pulse .... that is not practical during labour!
At this stage I was sure I’d end up having a Cesarean – I thought if baby can’t handle a little contraction now there is no way he’ll get through labour. They hooked up the drip to the IV but it hadn’t even hit my veins before he had another de-stat so they phoned my ob again who said to stop everything until she got there.
During that time I kept having my own natural contractions (although I don’t think the midwife with me at the time believed me as they weren’t showing up on the CTG and were quite irregular ) – baby was coping fine with these so when my ob arrived and checked out the CTG she said it was fine to keep going, we’d just take it slowly and under my own steam - no drip. She said they would access me at 12pm and she hoped I would be 5-6cm by then and said she hoped I didn’t feel unloved because she had forgotten me!
I was hooked up to a portable monitor so I could wander the corridor to try and speed things up, it was awkward to move around but we managed a few trips. The contractions kept coming in varying intensity and length so I really had no idea how I was going.
It was 12pm before I knew it, I had another exam and was 7cm! Baby de-stated again but came good - he just did not like people poking around up there! My OB was happy with that and said to review me again at 2pm.
Well, after that it was all a bit of a blur – the contractions amped up, they asked me if I wanted some gas, which I mistook as them asking if I had been having gas ie, passing wind and I said yes, but was happy to take it anyway! I don’t think it did much to help the pain but gave me something to concentrate on, regulate my breathing and bite down on! The gas made me a bit dizzy but that passed with some big breaths of oxygen.
The midwife thought I should try and go to the toilet as maybe the pressure was causing me pain (again, I don’t think she thought I was really as far along as I was!). I tried to walk to the loo but just couldn’t make it, I just leant against the bed and they helped me back in on my side and said just to let it go – so I did. Everything. Was pretty gross I’m sure but I didn’t care. I remember getting quite involuntarily vocal through the contractions, rocking back and forward and pushing against the end of the bed, sucking on the gas for dear life. One of the midwives said “I’m going to get things ready as I think you’ll deliver soon” – I remember being scared and elated at the same time - it was nearly over but the hard bit was yet to come!
They called my OB back as I was getting the urge to bear down, the next thing she was there and coaching me through the pushing – I know my future husband was saying encouraging things but I only wanted to concentrate on my OB's voice and the nicer midwife(she was fantastic too). I was pushing so hard but not feeling like anything was happening – I had my legs tucked up against my chest and she kept telling me to try and get 3 long pushes out of each contraction, take a deep breath and put all that energy into pushing, don’t speak or do anything else but push.
In between contractions the nice midwife reminded me that I was doing great, all by myself and without an epidural just like I had wanted. I remember saying “What the f*ck was I thinking?”
I still had no idea how I was progressing and had to hold off pushing at one stage – they put a tiny little vacuum on his head to help turn him and bring him along. After a few more big pushes, where I really put all my energy into pushing the way my ob was telling me and then at 1.29pm there was a baby on my chest!
I remember being shell shocked and I know I must have looked exactly as I felt. I couldn’t believe I had done it and he was finally here. I just looked at him in awe.
My future hubby cut the cord and it wasn’t until the midwife asked me what I’d had that I even thought to check. I had a peek and said “I knew you were a boy!” future hubby had a few tears and said how proud he was of me. Everyone was bustling around, giving me the injection for the placenta to come out and my ob telling me that I had one tiny tear that most doctor’s wouldn’t stitch but she would prefer to, I didn’t care less at this stage what they were doing. Had some stinging local and few more sucks on the gas while she popped in one stitch, then the placenta was ready and popped it out.
I got to have lots of time with baby before they took him to weigh and measure him.
He was 3.152kg and 50cm long, head circumference of 35cm – APGAR scores of 9 and 9.
I had trouble getting him to attach to have a feed, so an hour and half after he was born they recommended doing a finger feed with some formula as his temp had dropped and he didn’t have the energy to try and warm up. We gave him the formula and it was off to Dad for big cuddles while I had possibly the best shower of my life! They gave me a chair but the last thing I felt like doing was sitting down!
We packed up our belongings in birth suite and went back to the maternity ward at around 4.15pm where I called the new Grandma and Uncles & Auntie – Mum had no idea why I was calling and was just having a chit chat when I said – “You have a grandson” – she was so shocked! They came over that night for a visit and I did the big text out to announce our news (and thanks to Catherine for posting on Beyond The Baby)
So, probably about 5 and a half hours from when my membranes were ruptured to him arriving and about 25 minutes of pushing. I think I had the best possible birth I could have hoped for, although at any stage had he not been coping okay I would have done anything to get him out safely, it really is all that matters.
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